James harmer knight



-(No Model.) 2 Sheets-sheet 1. J. .H. KNIGHT.

. INSTRUMENT FOR MAKING BROKEN LINES.

Patented'June 25, 1895.

IN VENTOR WITNESSES 1' mama wmns ca. vmuwo" wuumn'rou. m c.

(No Model.)

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. H. KNIGHT. INSTRUMENT FOR MAKING BROKEN LINES.

No. 541,553. Patented June 25, 1895.

WITNESSES IN V'ENTOR UNITED STAT S PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES HARMER KNIGHT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, OF ONE-HALF TO EDWARD SWANN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

INSTRUMENT FOR MAKING BROKEN LINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 541,553, dated June 25,1895.

(No model.)

To all whbm it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES I-IARMER KNIGHT, of Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Instrumentsfor Making Broken Lines, of which the following is a description,referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification. Myinvention forms an improvement in tha class of drawinginstruments for making broken lines in which the motion of theinstrument, acting through suitable mechanism, raises and drops the pen,pencil, or other marking instrument, causing it to form dots, dots anddashes, or any other desired form of broken line, according to thedesign of the mechanism.

By my improvement I am enabled to produce an instrument having acontinuous rolling surface in contact with the paper or other material,thus giving greater smoothness of action and rendering the motion of theinstrument uniform and free'from jar; having a more gentle contactbetween the pen, pencil, or other marking instrument and the paper;obviating any snapping or throwing action of the marking instrument,which might cause blots or blurs upon the drawing; and adapted to moreclosely and smoothly follow the edge of French curves and capable ofbeing used for ntuch smaller curves, (or rather curves of much smallerradius) than is practicable with any other kind of broken-lineinstrument with which I am acquainted. Moreover, under my invention, thebroken-line mechanism forms an attachment which may be clamped onto orremoved from the pen, pencil,or other marking instrument of compasses,beam compasses, ruling devices and other forms of drawing instruments,without in any way in terfering with the ordinary adjustments of theinstrument, 0-.- disturbing its operation.

To all these and to certain other ends and purposes which will behereinafter more fully explained, my invention is'ehibodied in theapparatus and its several parts, constructed, arranged, combined, andused, substantially in the manner hereinafter described, illustrated,

and claimed.

Under my invention, I provide a sliding piece which may be clampeddirectly onto the drawing instrument or instruments for which it isintended. This sliding piece or carrier is mounted upon or within ahandle 'or frame, but free to travel up and down rela tively to it. Tothe frame I secure a contact roller preferably milled at its edge, togive better grasp upon the paper; and concentri cally to this contactroller or wheel I secure toothed or serrated tripping or actuatingwheels, having peripheries designed to produce the required movement ofa tongue or dog upon the sliding piece or carrier secured to the markinginstrument. The actuating or tripping wheel is of somewhat smallerdiameter than the contact wheel, so that it does not touch the paper,and the frame or handle may be short enough to.permit a straightedge orcurve to bear against the contact wheel or may be long enough to itselfform 7o the guide which rests against the straighted'ge or French curve.Preferably, the point of the drawing instrument comes as close aspossible to the contact wheel where it touches the paper, thus enablingthe draftsman to guide theinstrumentagainst the straight-edge or curvewith much greater ease and precision than is possible where the markingpoint trails behind at the end of a vibrating lever, as is common insome forms of broken-lineinstru- 8o ments. The actuating or trippingwheel is detachable from the contact wheel or roller so that it mayreadily be removed and others of a different design'substituted. A pinor a square stud upon the shaft or arbor of the contact roller,interlocking with the interchangeable actuating wheels, insures therotation of the actuating wheel.

Such briefly, is a description of my inven- 4 tion in its broaderaspects. Its details will go be better understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings which show two forms of it.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an ordinary drawing-pen provided with myattachment. 5 Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same, looking edgewise uponthe blades of the drawing-pen. Fig. 3 is a plan or top view showing theclamp by which my attachment is secured. Fig. at is a' view of the frameor handle. Fig. 5 is a detailview of the trippingor actuating wheel andthe clamp with its dog or tongue co-opcrating with the wheel. Figs. 6and 7 are edge and face views of the contact roller or wheel. Fig. 8shows a sliding cover which forms part of the handle of my device. Fig.9 shows a modification of my device. Figs. 10 to 13, inclusive, aredetail views of this modification; and Fig. 14 shows three designs oftripping or actuating wheels with samples of the broken lines produced.by them.

Like letters of reference throughout the drawings refer to like parts.

The bar, frame or handle of that form of my device shown in Figs. 1 to 8is indicated by A. This is provided with a slot at and a circularperforation for the stud or shaft that carries the contact roller B. Thecontact roller or wheel B is provided with two pins 0 which fit into andhold the actuating or tripping wheel 0. When the wheel 0 has been placedin position upon the face of the contact roller B, a shouldered pin Dwith a milled nut E may be employed to secure it and the contact wheelto the frame or handle A.

To the upper part of the frame or bar A is attached a sliding carrier orpiece F formed with a tongue at its lower end, for engaging theprojections or teeth of the tripping or actuating wheel 0, and providedwith a suitable clampf by which it may be attached to the pen, pencil,or other drawing instrument, with which it is to be used. The pieceorcarrier F is also provided with two screws 9 extending through theslot a of the bar A, and securing it to the bar, while leaving it freeto travel up and down the slot'. The lower end of the bar A may projectwell below the center of the roller or contact wheel B, to rest againstthe edge of the triangles, straightedge, or French curves, used to guidethe instrument; but, of course should not be long enough to touch thepaper. Preferably, however, I form the parts of such shape that thestraight-edge or other guide may rest directly against the contact wheelor roller B as in the modification hereinafter described.

The upper end of the bar A may be formed to fit interchangeably into alonger handle or into dividers, beam-compasses or other instruments inplace of the usual pen or pencil points, and the lower part may bewidened out as in the figures, to protect the tripping or actuatingwheel 0 from the fingers. The roller or contact wheel B is preferablymilled on its periphery, to prevent slipping, and provided with acentral flange around which the forward or backward with equal case;while if unsymmetrical the incline upon one side of the teeth beingless, the friction between the projections or teeth and the tongue ordog e will be reduced, but the motion preferably limited to onedirection. The form of wheel shown in Fig. fiwould give a series of dotsequally spaced. Other forms will give other lines as clearly shown inFig. 14;. Any variety of broken lines may therefore be produced byvarying the number, shape and size of the teeth and spaces.

The action of the tripping wheel and the tongue or dog 6 will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the art, and the advantages of my slidingaction in place of a vibratory lever, will be clearly apparent. When atooth has raised the pen or other marking instrument from the paper andpassed from beneath the tongue 2, gravity will cause the pen to fallquickly and gently back upon the paper with a directness and smoothnessof action not heretofore attained in any instrument with which I amacquainted.

In the drawings I have shown my attachment as clamped onto an ordinaryruling pen. The clamp shown is of square form slotted in front to allowthe passage of the adjusting screw 0f the pen. Against the jaws thusformed, the set-screw h securely clamps the underblade of the pen. Toadmit placing the pen, pencil or other marking instrument at variousangles with the plane of the instrument, the clamp f may be made of oneor more separate parts and secured to the sliding carrier F by a spring,hinge, or universal joint. It Will be clearly seen that in any case, theusual adjustments of the pen or other instrument are not in any wayinterfered with by the addition of my broken-line attachment.

To afford protection to the set screw 72. and the carrier screws g, asliding cover or case, as shown in Figs. 3 and 8, may be provided,which, when in place, covers the screws as shown in Fig. 2.

The modification of my device shown in Figs. 9 to l-l, inclusive, isvery much the same in the function and operation of the parts, the chiefdifference being in the design and details of the several features. Theusual handle of the pen is omitted and the frame A, provided with ahandle H. This is of course preferable, as the usual handle of the penmoves up and down with the pen, rendering it necessary to hold theinstrument by means of the frame or handle A, as already described. Inthe modification, the carrier F takes the form of a loose spool or plugwhich travels up and down within the frame A, which in this case formsan inclosing case provided with a slot a. A projection f extends fromthe carrier F through the slot and forms the clamp or means forattachment to the pen. The contact Wheel or roller B is provided with arectangular stud b and a projecting arbor, or pin (1, as clearly seen inFig. 13. The actuating or tripping wheels 0 are provided withcorresponding rectangular perforations at their centers, which fit thestud b and take the place of the pins 0 and per- IIO forationsheretofore described. The pin or arbor, d, of the contact roller B titson one side into the hole b in the lower end of the frame or case A.wheel a spring clamp A secured to the case A and provided with aperforated spring tongue at, forms the bearing for the pin or arbor ofthe contact roller. -With this construction, it is only necessary toraise the tongue at and remove together the wheels B 0; when theactuating wheel may be changed and the parts returned to their place inorder to give any desired form of broken line.

In Fig. 9 one of the great advantages of my invention is especiallyapparent. The parts are so formed that the straight-edge rests directlyagainst the contact wheel or roller B, and the point of the pen isimmediately beyond it, in the axial plane of the instrumentperpendicular to the line of motion, that is to say, perpendicular tothe wheel B. This enables the draftsman to employ the instrument withmuch greater ease and precision than would otherwise be possible. Indeedmany forms of broken-line instruments with which I am acquainted, areusually employed only for straight lines, because the manipulation istoo diflicult or too inaccurate in curve work.

I have nowset forth two modifications of my device. I have purposelyomitted all mention of many other modifications and variations which maybe made, both in the arrangement and in the details of the severalparts, because to enumerate them would obscure rather than make clearthe more essential features of my invention.

I claim, however, and desire to secure by these Letters Patent of theUnited States, together with all suchmodifieations as may be made bymere skill in the art without departing from the principles involved,and with only the limitations and restrictions as hereinafter expressedor necessarily implied, the following:

1. A broken-line attachment for drawing instruments having a contactrolleror wheel and a separate and detachable tripping or actuatingwheel, a movable carrier or piece At the other side of the actuated bythe said wheel, and a clamp, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

2. As an improvement in an instrument for making broken-lines and incombination with the other operating parts, a contact roller or wheel, atripping wheel driven thereby amovable carrier piece, or jigger,actuated by the said tripping wheel, and a marking instrument mountedon,or moving with, the said carrying piece or jigger substantially asset forth.

I 3. As an improvement in an instrument for making broken lines, acontact roller or wheel having a continuous and preferably milledcontact edge, a tripping or actuating wheel and a carrier providedwith atongue co-operating with the said tripping wheel, for giving broken-linemotion to the pen, pencil, or other marking instrument, substantially asfor the purposes set forth.

4. The combination of a suitable Inechanism for producing a verticalreciprocating motion and actuated by contact with the paper through aroller or contact wheel, with a pen, encil, or other marking instrumentop erating at the side of the said roller or con tact wheel in a planewith or containing the axis thereof, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

5. In an instrumentformaking brokenlines, in combination, a slidingcarrier, means for securing a pen, pencil, or other marking instrument,and a tripping or actuating wheel, engaging with a dog or tongue on thecarrier, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In an instrument for making broken lines, a tripping or actuatingwheel providedwith projections or teeth, in combination with a slidingcarrier. having a tongue actuated by gravity against the said trippingor actuating wheel, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony. whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 19th day of May,1894.

JAMES HARMER KNIGHT- Witnesses:

PERCY MOGEORGE, G. S. CHRISMAN.

